Sand and Stars
by TayuyaFluteofDeath
Summary: Shannarah is a mysterious chunin of unknown origin. Gaara finds her gravely wounded just outside of Sunagokure. This is their story. It takes place after Gaara lost the Shukaku, but I've written it so he still has it.
1. Prologue

Prologue

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She jumped through the trees, dodging kunai knives and shuriken throwing stars. She looked back over her shoulder as she ran, splitting her attention between what was in front of her and what was behind. Was she still being followed? Duh. Of course she was. Her followers were the type that, when given an order, would not stop until their mission was

fulfilled or they were dead. There were less than before. Had some given up? It was possible, but not probable. Five teams of ninja dropped in front of her from above the canopy. The young woman nearly fell off the branch she had just landed on. Unable to move forward or back, she crouched, waiting till her pursuers were almost upon her, then she uncoiled her legs like springs and shot straight up to the crown of the tree. Below her, the ninjas crashed into each other.

"Heh," she smirked. That should keep them off her back for at least a few precious moments. She brought her thumb and forefinger to the corners of her mouth and blew, producing a whistle that was almost too high-pitched for human ears to hear.

Wssh!

A moment later, a large hawk swooped silently from the clouds to hover beside the young woman. The hawk opened its beak and spoke. It had a deep, majestic, yet almost teenager-like voice.

"C'mon, let's go," the hawk said and flapped a bit closer so the young woman could put her arms around its thick neck. The hawk hovered, waiting for the woman to settle on its back. Once its rider had settled, the hawk flapped it's giant wings, gaining height, and

Shh-thnk!

A shuriken throwing star of giant proportions flew from behind and below and embedded itself in the young woman's back. She grunted and slumped forward on the hawk's neck, her grasp on its feathers loosening. The hawk screeched as it felt its rider start to slip from its back.

"No! Hang on, mistress! You've eluded death this far, you can't give up now! I'll get you to safety. _Just hold on!_"


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was a rare peaceful day in Sunagokure, the Village hidden in Sand. It was market day; all around, villagers were smiling and laughing as they bought and sold their wares. Children ran around; playing with leather balls, wooden hoops, or silk ribbons while their mothers squabbled good-naturedly with merchants over prices. Yes, it was a lovely, peaceful day in the village; yet Gaara of the Sand couldn't shake the feeling that there was something amiss. He walked through the village, looking at all the smiling faces and trying to manipulate his own normally grim expression into something resembling a smile.

Some urge or instinct caught Gaara and forced him to look skyward, but there was nothing there to see aside from the normal birds wheeling about in the clear, blue sky.

"Hn," he muttered, gazing into the blue infinity, "Why do I get the feeling something's about to happen?"

Just as Gaara was about to return his attention to the bustling market, a glimmer of movement caught his eye. Something-too far above for him to tell what-flashed and arced down through the air toward the forest surrounding the ravines that surrounded the village.

His raccoon-like eyes widened. "Huh. I wonder what that was."

He summoned some of the Shukaku's energy, in the form of the sand that poured from the gourd on Gaara's back, and disappeared. The villagers, unconcerned, went on about their business. They all knew that their young Kazekage often went off on his own, and he always came back unscathed.

Gaara walked soundlessly along the cliffs at the clearing between the ravines and the forest, letting his memory of where the strange missile had disappeared into the trees guide him. Aside from the normal, green smell of growing things there was a smell of blood-fresh blood-permeating the air that pulled Gaara into the forest and away from the cliffs' edge. Twigs and leaves crunched beneath his feet as he progressed farther beneath the canopy.

A screech stopped the young Kazekage midstep. On the loamy forest floor, a few yards off to the side, was a huge hawk, almost twice the size of a human child. Its feathers were ruffled, and its wings were spread, puffing up the hawk's size even farther. It was almost as if the hawk was protecting something, like a nest, but why would a hawk build its nest on the forest floor? The hawk screeched again and launched itself at Gaara's face. The young Kazekage's didn't move, and the hawk rammed into a wall of sand. The giant bird fell to the ground, stunned.

It was then that Gaara saw what the hawk had been guarding, and it wasn't a nest. A young woman who looked to be about Gaara's age lay on the forest floor with a giant shuriken throwing star embedded in her back. Gaara summoned a tendril of sand that snaked out and pulled the weapon from the girl's back, throwing the shuriken into a nearby tree. He moved closer, using the sand he'd summoned to attempt to staunch the flow of blood and cursing that he'd not thought to bring a med kit with him. There was so much blood pooled around the young woman's body that it seemed impossible for her to still be alive. Gaara checked the girl's throat for a pulse, and he found one. It was faint, but it was there. The girl's skin was pale beneath a dark tan because of the amount of blood she'd lost. Gaara put his hand near her mouth to see if he could feel even a wisp of air. The girl was still breathing-barely-and, while Gaara was unsure whether that was a good thing, he was oddly relieved that the girl still clung to life. As he crouched beside the girl's still form, Gaara noticed something he hadn't seen from farther away: the girl was not just some random traveler who'd been attacked, she was a ninja! Though from which village, Gaara couldn't tell. The girl's forehead protector had fallen from her head and lay facedown in the dirt. A weapons pouch was tied to the girl's leg, and another, smaller pouch rested on her hip.

"I wonder what's in it," Gaara muttered, "Eh, probably none of my business. Either way, if I want to find out anything about this mystery girl I should get her to a medic before she completely bleeds out."

The hawk had regained its balance, and it flew to Gaara's shoulder as the young Kazekage picked up the girl's limp form, holding her as he would a wounded ally. In a swirl of sand, the motley group was on its way to Sunagokure Hospital.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Gaara appeared in the lobby of Sunagokure Hospital in the center of his own personal chakra-made dust devil. He still held the wounded ninja as carefully as he would a baby. The girl's head lolled back against Gaara's bicep, and her breath was coming in short, shallow gasps. She was still bleeding heavily from the deep gash in her back. Even Gaara's sand couldn't absorb it fast enough. God, that girl had a lot of blood. A lot of blood? Why in the world would he think _that_? Hell, he was the ninja who killed his enemies by crushing them and spraying their blood in a fine, crimson rain. How could he think that _any_ amount of the sticky, red fluid was too much?

Gaara had no idea; maybe it had to do with the girl. The mystery ninja whom he now held as he stood in the lobby of the village's hospital. There was something…not odd per say, but…something _special_. Yes, that was it. There was something special about her. This young woman, who'd appeared out of nowhere, evoked something deep within Gaara. He did not know what it was, but he got a feeling that perhaps this mysterious girl might have something to do with him. Some strange connection. Maybe, but maybe not. Who knows?

Around Gaara, everybody in the lobby, be it medic nin, patient or visitor, stared in bewilderment at the young Kazekage. What was he doing here? He had never had any reason to come to the hospital before. Who was that in his arms? And why in the world was there a hawk-a _giant_ hawk-perched on the Kazekage's shoulder? Not that nobody had seen a bird before. There were plenty wheeling around in the sky every day, but _that_ bird was just too big to be normal. All activity had stopped as people stopped to stare.

"Dammit. What are you all staring at?" Gaara snapped, "Is it _that_ unusual that a person comes in needing help? This girl needs medical attention." Nobody moved. Everybody was stunned by the fact that the Kazekage was standing in the lobby of a hospital, and they were even more stunned by his tone of voice. Gaara was usually so soft-spoken. "Did you hear me? This girl needs medical attention. NOW!"

Normal hospital activity resumed and an elderly medic ninja hurried over with a clean white gurney to take the wounded girl from Gaara's arms.

"Oh my," the medic nin murmured as she gingerly set the young woman on the gurney, "that's a lot of blood. What happened? Somebody get me an IV prep and a bag of O negative! We need to get this girl to the O.R. STAT!" The medic turned to Gaara, who was still partially soaked in blood that was obviously not his own. "Don't worry, Kazekage, sir. We'll save her. The young lady probably just needs a transfusion and some rest. Of course, there's no harm in making sure that's the extent of her injuries. Could you, ah, perhaps, shed a bit of light on the situation? I've really no idea what is going on here." Without waiting for an answer, the medic nin rushed off with the gurney carrying the unconscious girl.

Gaara was left standing in the middle of the Sunagokure Hospital lobby in the midst of all the usual hustle and bustle. He slowly shook his head and muttered "Neither do I" in a very belated answer. Then he turned and walked slowly, as if in a dream, to a chair in the corner of the lobby, where he sat to wait and see what would happen.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Gaara sat in the uncomfortable hospital chair with his eyes closed. The young Kazekage wasn't sleeping; he was thinking. The day wasn't even half over, and already it had gone from peaceful and boring to quite interesting. As usual, following his instincts had led Gaara to a new adventure. Of course, most of his past adventures had been missions, and he'd left Sunagokure, whereas this time he hadn't left home.

The giant hawk still perched on Gaara's shoulder, and it was persistently trying to peck him but was always blocked by the sand that protected him. Gaara didn't really notice the hawk. At least, he didn't pay much attention to it until he felt a sharp pain in the back of his hand. The hawk had finally managed to evade Gaara's sand and made contact with his hand.

"Ouch. Damn bird," Gaara grumbled, swiping at the hawk, "You're the one who decided to stay with me. Why didn't you just follow your master?"

The hawk tried to peck Gaara's hand again as if to say that Gaara had been rude. Gaara didn't care. He knew he was rude; he didn't care.

"Um…excuse me, sir?"

Gaara looked away from the hawk and toward the voice. The elderly medic nin had returned.

"Hm?"

"Um, well, we-we did our best, Kazekage-sama. The girl-she can-I mean-you can see her now-I-I'd better go-"

"Wait." Gaara grabbed the woman's sleeve. "Her room?"

"Her room-?" The woman was so flustered that she could barely stammer out the words. "Oh-you mean _where?_ "

Gaara nodded.

"It's-it's j-just down the hall and-and to the left."

"Number?"

"6-613."

"Thanks."

Gaara stood, and the medic nin turned and ran back the way she'd come. Geez, were people _still_ so afraid of him? Were they afraid he was going to squash them like a bug, or was it just intimidating to speak to the Kazekage? Eh, it didn't matter. Oh, here was the room. Gaara opened the door and the hawk flew off his shoulder to perch on the railing around the girl's bed.

Gaara had only been in a hospital room once before, and it had been, well, different. That time, he had been in Konoha, and the invalid had been a freakish, beetle-browed boy, and there had been a vase of flowers on the bedside table. This time, Gaara was back home in Sunagokure, the invalid was female, and only the girl's belongings were on the bedside table. The hawk sidled along the railing it perched on till it sat by the girl's head and glared at Gaara.

Gaara stared coolly back at the hawk and sat in a lounge-chair by the bed. At this closer range, Gaara noticed a few small details that he had missed before. For one, the color of this mysterious Jane Doe's hair. Instead of the light auburn Gaara had thought it before, the young woman's hair was red! Not the dark red of his own hair, but a bright, fiery, orangey red that gradually darkened to black at the tips. The long, red waves snaked across the pillow and over the girl's chest. She had long eyelashes, too. On the girl's brow, just above her eyes, was a small scar-tattoo?-a perfect six-pointed star. That was odd. The scar was too precise to have been received during a fight. Had this girl been tortured? That might explain her appearance in the center of the forest, where nobody would have found her had they not been looking. A force deeper than mere curiosity impelled Gaara to touch the girl's brow. He didn't know why, but he didn't resist the impulse and reached out a hand. Strong wings batted Gaara's hand away, breaking the spell, and a deep voice came from the hawk beside the girl's pillow.

"Don't touch her!"

Gaara jerked back and looked at the hawk in surprise and, oddly, annoyance.

"What the hell?!"

"Don't touch her!"

"Did you just _talk_ ?"

"Yeah, I did. What of it? Never seen a talking animal before?"

"Sure I have, they've just usually had more than one tail. Like the Shukaku and Kyuubi."

"Never heard of 'em. Doesn't matter, just don't touch shinobi-san."

"Why not? I was just looking at that scar."

"Don't. It's more than a scar. Don't touch it."

"Uh huh. Sure."

The hawk didn't bother talking anymore; it just stared at Gaara. This was quickly becoming one of the weirdest days of his life.


End file.
